[Red Moon]

X FACTOR'S RAQUELLE: GIMME DANIEL

X Factor beauty Raquelle Gracie has dumped her boyfriend for axed finalist Daniel De Bourg.

Raquelle, 20, of sexy girl group Hope - a big hit with their version of Gimme Gimme Gimme A Man After Midnight - had been dating a French student called Gregory for more than two years.

But she has given her Gallic lover the push to be with single dad Daniel - kicked off the show after his version of 60s classic Build Me Up Buttercup was slated by the judges.

Heart-throb Daniel, 31 has been taking Raquelle out to an Italian restaurant near the North London mansion where she and the Hope girls live with the six acts left on the ITV1 talent show.

And smitten Raquelle has already told pals she thinks the romance will become serious despite their 11-year age gap and the fact that Daniel has a three-year-old son, Theron, from a previous relationship.

A source close to the couple said last night: "Raquelle and Daniel had an obvious spark when they moved into the X Factor pad.

"She's a great catch and he's a very good-looking guy and they have bonded over their love of music.

"It's a big turnaround because when they first met they thought they could never be
more than friends because of Raquelle's relationship with Greg."

Friends say the couple became an item after former dance teacher Daniel was kicked out of the competition three weeks ago after going up against Alisha Bennett, 23.

The source added: "Dan's exit came as a massive shock. It seemed to make Raquelle realise that her relationship with Greg had run its course and that it was Dan she really wanted.

"It's still early days and they both want to keep the relationship as low-key as possible until the attention from the show dies down a bit.

"But they are a proper couple - and Daniel has been wining and dining Raquelle and treating her like a princess."

Raquelle - who previously dated Strictly Come Dancing star and ex-EastEnder Matt Di Angelo - has been nursing a secret heartache in her bid for stardom.

The Manchester-born model has admitted she was devastated when her father, Muhammad Naviede, served six years for fraud and deception involving £45million worth of bank loans in the 1990s.

She and Daniel are not the only couple to become an item after sharing the X Factor house.

Last week Raquelle's bandmate, 17-year-old student Emily Biggs, dumped boyfriend Louis Hill, 19, for X Factor wannabe Leon Jackson.

Their romance was discovered when the pair locked themselves in a loo in the X Factor mansion as they were so desperate to spend some time together.

Source: Sunday Mirror